Chapter 24 · The Life You Signed Away

Julian's on his knees when the contract finishes rising out of the floor.

Mara can see his hands shaking. The black mark's crawling up his neck now, splitting into thin lines like roots looking for water. Every time her heart beats, his whole body jerks.

"Tell me." Her voice comes out flat. She's past screaming. Past crying. "Tell me what you signed."

Julian doesn't look up. "Mara—"

"Don't." She steps closer. The contract's hovering between them, glowing faint gold, and she can read her own name in the corner. Her blood. Her handprint. She was maybe six years old when someone pressed her palm to that page. "Don't say my name like it means something. Just tell me what the hell this is."

He finally lifts his head. His eyes are bloodshot. The mark's reached his jaw. "I tried to stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Your brother." Julian's voice cracks. "Elias came to me ten years ago. Said he needed an anchor. Someone the city trusted. Someone whose family controlled the contract network." He swallows hard. "He said he could fix everything. The bad oaths. The blood trades. All the ways people get crushed under deals they can't read.